Guillermo Jones became world champion

Professional boxing

Russian boxer Valery Brudov was unable to realize his chance to become a world champion. In the fight for the World Boxing Association (WBA) title in the first heavy weight (up to 90.7 kg), which took place in Panama City, he fought on equal terms with its owner Guillermo Jones for quite a long time, but still did not last until the final bell . In the 11th round, the referee stopped the fight, considering Valery Brudov's cuts too dangerous.

The result of this fight, in general, corresponded to the bookmakers’ idea of what it should have been: most of them considered the Panamanian Guillermo Jones, the owner of the ring, not just a favorite, but a clear favorite, setting odds for his victory in the region of 1.25. Although reasons to believe that Valery Brudov actually has not microscopic, but very real chances to take away the title from Jones, were discovered without much difficulty. For example, it was known that the champion, after winning the title in a match with Firat Arslan, did not enter the ring for more than two years. And at his age (Guillermo Jones is 38, while the Russian is five years younger), two years is a serious break, such that it can knock you out of shape forever. Or the fact that a little over a week before the fight with Brudov, the most authoritative, most cunning promoter in the world, Don King, who was already leading his opponent, signed a contract. That’s what they sometimes do when they feel they need to play it safe: if you lose one champion, you’ll get a new one.

At the same time, at the beginning of the fight, the feeling that the experienced Valery Brudov, who had already been close to the champion title a couple of times in his career, but lost in very stubborn fights to Virgil Hill and Firat Arslan, would be able to compete in Panama, did not go away. In the first rounds, opponents relied mainly on the jab, and Brudov was not inferior to the champion here. Moreover, Jones, a bright fighter, seemed somehow lazy, perhaps, not wanting to fight really actively or realizing that he did not have enough physical resources for this. After half the fight - six rounds - it was impossible to guess what the three referees leading the score thought about them. But most likely, if they gave Jones an advantage, it would be a small one, say, one round.

However, then everything changed. It turned out that Guillermo Jones, an excellent tactician, was simply biding his time to take decisive action. He started to attack them in the seventh round. The Panamanian showed that his rich technical arsenal has not disappeared in the two years since the victory over Arslan. Various blows were thrown - side blows, uppercuts - combinations were thrown. It also turned out that the veteran, oddly enough, has enough speed and freshness.

In this situation, Valery Brudov was, of course, required to somehow change his style. But he looked fine in a monotonous fight without a spark, in a fight slightly blown up by Jones, he began to lose. It cannot be said that Brudov missed terrible blows that threatened to knock out. It was impossible to find any signs of obvious panic in his actions. However, he lost the rounds, and attempts to knock Guillermo Jones out of rhythm invariably failed. Let’s say, while breaking the distance, approaching the slightly taller champion at a close distance, that is, it seemed more convenient for Valery Brudov, the Russian too often ran into counterattacks.

Guillermo Jones failed to shake him. But he managed to make cuts. What formed near Brudov’s left eye was simply terrible. And in the end, it was precisely this that did not allow us to check what the result of the fight would have been if it had lasted all 12 rounds. At the last minute of the 11th, referee Luis Pabon decided that Valery Brudov’s wounds were too dangerous for the health of the Russian boxer, and stopped the fight. The stands of the hall, who understood, of course, that the winnings from their idol would not have gone away in any case, still burst into applause. And the TV cameramen were happy to show Don King's face with a wide smile on it. There was no way this man could fail on Saturday.

Valery Brudov lost a fight ahead of schedule for the first time in his career, and Russia still has only one world champion in professional boxing. This is Dmitry Pirog, who won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title in the summer.

Alexey Dospehov

Valery Brudov lost by cut